Paper clasp



G. A. GEIST Sept. 17, 1963 PAPER CLASP 2 Sheet s-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 16, 1961 George A. Geisr ZNVENTOR.

a; A. GEIST PAPER CLASP Sept. 17, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 16, 1961 m TT W IE L 9 6 .m A 5w 9 1 W m M z s Q i m 6 w w M 5 I F em ZfinJ vm m\ \i R Q 2 w ATTORNEYS preferably sheet metal.

United States Patent 3,103,724 PAPER CLASP George A. Geist, Detroit, Mich, assignmof one-half to Harry H. Geist, Detroit, Mich. Filed Feb. 16, 1961, Ser. No. 96,164 14 Claims. (Cl. 2466) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in clips or clasps particularly for paper and other materials and has for one of its important objects to provide, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, an article of this character which is adapted to be expeditiously assembled without the use of rivets, pins, screws or other extraneous securing elements.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a clasp of the character described which may be readily opened to receive the paper or other material with one hand.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide, in a clasp of the aforementioned character comprising a stationary jaw and a pair of pivoted jaws cooperable therewith, novel means for retaining said pivoted jaws in position and for actuating the same.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a clasp of the character set forth which will be comparatively simple in construction, strong, durable, compact, of light weight, attractive in appearance and which may be manufactured at low cost.

These, together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form of a paper clasp constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2, s a view in vertical longitudinal section through the device, taken substantially on the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in transverse section, taken substantially on the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a detail view in perspective of the primary spring;

FIGURE 5 is a detail view in perspective of the secondary spring;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the blank from which the housing is formed.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of another form of paper clasp constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 8 is a side elevational View of the clasp shown in FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a view in transverse section taken along the line 99 in FIGURE 7; and

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary perspective View illustrating the manner in which the movable jaws of the clasp shown in FIGURES 7 through 9 are engaged by the retaining spring.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 6, it will be seen that the embodiment of the invention there illustrated comprises what may be considered a stationary jaw in the form of an elongated base plate 7 of suitable material, At an intermediate point, the plate 7 is reduced in width, as indicated at 8, providing a relatively narrow lower portion 9. I

The upper end portion of the plate 7 is folded on itself in a manner to provide an underlying flange 11 and a bend or bight portion 12, the latter being provided in its sides with notches or recesses 13, the purpose of which will be presently set forth. The flange 11 terminates in upturned spacing lips 14 which are engaged beneath the plate 7.

The plate 7 further includes a reversely folded lower end portion providing an underlying flange 15 and a bend or bight portion 16, the latter being provided in its sides with notches or recesses 17, the purpose of which will also be presently set forth. The bend or bight portion 16 of the plate 7 has formed therein an opening 18 of the shape shown. The flange 15 terminates in upturned spacing lips 19 engaged beneath the plate 7.

Mounted for swinging movement on the plate 7 and cooperable therewith is a pair of substantially U-shaped jaws 26 of suitable metal. The jaws 20 include parallel, side-abutting inner end portions 21 which are journalled longitudinally between the plate 7 and the underlying flanges 11 and 15. The end portions 21 of the jaws 20 are journalled in the opening 18 in the bend 16 and pass through the spaces 22 and 23 which are provided therefor between the pairs of spaced lips 14 and 19, respectively. The free end portions 24 of the substantially U- shaped jaws 20 are engageable on the longitudinal marginal portions of the upper portion of the plate 7 in the manner shown to advantage in FIGURE 1 of the drawing. It will be observed that the jaws 20 emerge from beneath the plate 7 at the bend 16.

Also mounted longitudinally beneath the plate 7 is a substantially U-shaped primary spring 25 of suitable resilient metal, the legs 26 of which straddle the inner end portions 21 of the jaws 20. The legs 26 of the primary spring 25 comprise outturned end portions 27 which substantially parallel the bight portions 28 of the jaws 2t) and which terminate in books 29 engaged with the outer end portions 24 of said jaws. The spring 25 also emerges from beneath the plate 7 at the bend 16 through the opening d8 which is shaped to accommodate said spring. The spring 25 yieldingly resists upward swinging movement of the end portions 24 of the jaws 20.

Mounted astraddle the assembly isa generally U-shaped secondary spring 30 of suitable resilient metal. The secondary spring 30 includes a bight portion 31 which closely parallels the bend 12 of the plate 7. The spring 30 further includes depending legs 32 which extend between the marginal side portions of the plate 7 and the underlying flanges 11 and 15, the notches or recesses 13 and 17 in the bends 12 and 16 accommodating said legs. The legs 32. comprise intermediate inward offsets 33 at the offsets 3 in the plate 7. The legs 32 of the secondary spring Stifurther comprise inwardly extending lower end portions or arms 34 which terminate in hooks 35 which are engaged with the bight portions or arms 28 of the jaws 20 for operatively connecting the secondary spring 30 to said jaws.

It is thought that the use of the device illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 6 will be readily apparent from a consideration of the foregoing. Briefly, the springs 25 and 39 yieldingly retain the outer end portions 24 of the jaws 20 in closed position on the stationary jaw or plate 7. To open the device for inserting the paper or other material to be clasped, said device is held between the thumb and second finger of one hand, which thumb and second finger are engaged with the outer end portions 24 of the jaws 20 below the offsets 8 in the plate 7. The index finger is then engaged with the central portion of the plate 7 for holding the same down in an obvious manner, permitting the jaws 24 to be swung upwardly to open position against the tension of the springs 25 and 30. The material is then inserted and the jaws 20 are released for clamping the material on the stationary jaw or plate 7 through the medium of the springs 25 and 30. In addition to assisting in the actuation of the jaws 20, the spring 30 retains said jaws in the assembly and positively limits the opening swinging movement thereof. The construction and arrangement is such that the outer end portions 24 of the jaws 20 parallel the stationary jaw or plate 7 and rest thereon when in closed position. If desired, the plate 7 may be provided with any suitable advertising or other matter.

The form of paper clasp illustrated in FIGS. 7 through 10 is in principle similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6 but is of more economical design and construction. For example, the stationary jaw is in the form of a molded plastic plate 40 having an upwar ly turned flange 41 extending across one end and a downwardly turned flange 42 extending transversely across the other end of the plate. Flanges 41 and 42 are inclined to the plane of plate 4! at an angle of about 60. The side edges 43 of plate 4i) are recessed as at 44 at a portion thereof spaced more closely to flange 41 than to flange 42. The side edges 45 directly adjacent flange 41 are set inwardly relative to the side edges 43. The top side of plate 40 is provided with two recesses 46, 47 which are spaced apart by a band portion 48. Recess 46 is spaced from the end of plate 40 provided with flange 3-2 and recess 47 is open to the end of plate 49 provided with flange 47. Both recesses are partially closed at the bottom thereof by lugs 49 which span the recesses transversely. Each lug 49 has a fiat central bottom face 50 with side faces 51 which taper transversely from the flat face 50 to the bottom face 52 of plate 4%. The upper face of each lug 49 has a central depression 53 bounded by raised faces 54 on each side. The outer side edges of raised faces 54 terminate in outwardly inclined side faces 55.

The U-shaped jaws have their parallel inner legs 21 journalled on the underside of plate 40 within the recesses 53 of the two lugs 49. These inner legs 21 extend longitudinally of plate 40 beneath flange 4!, band 48 and the portion 56 of plate 46 which extends between socket 46 and the downwardly turned flange 42. The outer legs 24 of jaws 20 engage the top face of plate 49 adjacent the longitudinal side edges 43 of the plate. The retaining spring for the jaws has its legs 25 seated at the junction between the raised faces 54 and the outwardly inclined faces 55. The bight portion 57 of retainer spring 25 is disposed between the bottom face 52 of plate 46 and the ends of the inner legs 21 of jaws 20. The ends of legs 21 are transversely notched as at 58 (FIGURE 10) so that the bight portion 57 of retainer spring 25 seats in these notches. Retainer spring 25 is prevented from shifting longitudinally on the underside of plate 45) by four bosses '59 between which the bight portion 57 of retainer spring 25 engages. The outwardly turned end portions 27 of retainer spring 25. are disposed adjacent the upwardly turned flange 41 of plate at and the hooked ends 29 engage around the outer legs 2% of jaws 20 so as to bias the legs 24 downwardly against the top face of plate 40.

In use, the clasp illustrated in FIGURES 7 through l!) operates in substantially the same manner as previously described with respect to the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 6. When the two outer arms 24 of jaws 20 are grasped between the thumb and index finger as illustrated in FIGURE 7 and squeezed together, the bias of spring 25 is overcome and the outer legs 24 of the jaws swing upwardly and inwardly toward each other as shown by the broken line representation in FIGURE 9. The recesses 44 accommodate the fingers of the operator so that the operators fingers can move inwardly toward each other without obstruction from the side edges of plate 40. It will be noted that as the fingers arc squeezed together, the fingers move upwardly and inwardly toward each other with arms 24 so that a stack of papers can be readily inserted between the top face of plate 40 and the upwardly swung arms 24.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my prior copending application Serial No. 755,531, filed August 18, 1958.

I claim:

1. A clasp comprising a plate, a pair of substantially U-shaped jaws having one end portion journalled beneath the plate in parallelism with each other and their other end portions engageable on said plate and cooperable therewith for receiving and gripping material therebetween, and resilient means for closing the jaws on the plate, said means including a substantially U-shaped spring mounted beneath the plate astraddle the journalled ends of the jaws, said spring including outturned end portions engaged on the other end portions of the jaws for yieldingly urging said jaws toward the plate.

2. A clasp comprising a plate, a pair of substantially U-shaped jaws each having end portions separated by bight portions, one end portion of each jaw being journalled beneath the plate in parallelism with each other and their other end portions being engageable on said plate and cooperable therewith for receiving and gripping material therebetween, and resilient means for closing the jaws on the plate, said means including a substantially U- shaped spring mounted astraddle the plate in the plane thereof, said spring including legs comprising inturned free end portions terminating in hooks engaged with the bight portions of the jaws for operatively connecting said spring thereto.

3. A paper clasp comprising a metallic plate, a pair of substantially U-shaped swingable jaws mounted on one side of the plate and cooperable therewith for receiving and clamping material therebetween, said U-shaped jaws each having end portions separated by bight portions, one end portion of each jaw being journalled beneath the plate, the other end portions being engageable with the other side of the plate, a substantially U-shaped spring mounted beneath the plate astraddle the one end portions of the jaws, said spring comprising outturned arms on its ends terminating in books engageable with the other end portions of the jaws for yieldingly urging said jaws toward a closed position, and a substantially U-shaped secondary spring mounted on the plate, said secondary spring comprising legs including inturned free end portions erminating in hooks engageable with the bight portions of the jaws for yieldingly urging said jaws toward closed position.

4. A clasp comprising a plate, a pair of U-shaped jaws, each jaw including parallel legs interconnected by a bight portion, one leg of each jaw extending under the plate, means pivotally mounting said one leg of each jaw to said plate for pivotal movement about an axis defined by the longitudinal axis of said one leg, the other leg of each jaw overlying said plate and movable in an arcuate path towards and away from the upper surface of the plate for receiving an article therebetwcen, and a U-shaped spring mounted on said plate, said spring extending under said plate and including parallel leg portions terminating in outwardly extending end portions generally paralleling the bight portions of said jaws, and means on the end portions engaged with said other legs for urging said other legs toward said plate for clamping articles therebetween.

5. The clasp as defined in claim 4 wherein the other leg portions are normally disposed adjacent the side edges of the plate, a portion of the side edges of the plate underlying the other legs of the jaws being cut away to define finger receiving areas for enabling the fingers to readily engage the other legs of the U-shaped jaws for swinging the other-legs of the jaws upwardly away from the plate against the bias of said spring for permitting removal of or insertion or articles between the upper surface of the plate and the other legs of the U-shaped jaws.

6. The clasp as defined in claim 4 wherein said means mounting said one legs to the plate includes a portion of the plate extending under said one legs of the U-shaped jaws thus retaining said one legs alongside the bottom surface of said plate.

7. A clasp comprising a plate, a pair of U-shaped jaws each having a pair of legs connected by a bight portion, each jaw having one leg journalled on the plate with the journalled legs being generally parallel and with the other leg of each jaw engageable against the plate and cooperable therewith for securing and gripping material between the last mentioned legs and the plate, and resilient means for closing the last mentioned legs of the jaws against the plate comprising a substantially U-shaped spring mounted on the plate astraddle the journalled legs of the jaws, said spring including laterally extending arms engaging the jaws for yieldingly urging the jaws against the plate.

8. A clasp comprising a plate, a pair of U-shaped jaws each having a pair of legs connected by a bight portion, each jaw having one leg journalled on the plate with the journalled legs being generally parallel and with the other leg of each jaw engageable against the plate and cooperable therewith for securing and gripping material between the last mentioned legs and the plate, and resilient means for closing the last mentioned legs of the jaws against the plate comprising a substantially U-shaped spring mounted on the plate, said Ushaped spring having its bight portion engaging the journalled legs of each jaw and having arms extending laterally from the legs of the U-shaped spring engaging the jaws for yieldingly urging the jaws against the plate.

9. A clasp comprising a plate, a pair of U-shaped jaws each having a pair of legs connected by a bight portion, each jaw having one leg journalled on the plate with the journalled legs being generally parallel and with the other leg of each jaw engageable against the plate and cooperable therewith for securing and gripping material between the last mentioned legs and the plate, and resilient means for closing the last mentioned legs of the jaws against the plate comprising a substantially U-shaped spring mounted on the plate and engaging the journalled legs of the jaws, said spring including laterally extending arms engaging the jaws for yieldingly urging the jaws against the plate, said plate having side portions thereof traversed by said other legs of the jaws recessed inwardly substantially beyond said other legs of the jaws to accommodate the operators fingers when squeezing said other legs inwardly to swing said jaws about the axes of said journalled legs.

10. A clasp comprising a plate having lug means on one face thereof, a pair of Ushaped jaws each having a pair of legs connected by a bight portion, each jaw having one leg extending through said lu-g means to thereby journal the two jaws on the plate, the journalled legs being generally parallel, the bight portion of each jaw extending beyond one end of the plate and the other legs of each jaw engaging the opposite face of the plate and cooperable therewith for securing and gripping material between the last mentioned legs and the last mentioned face of the plate, and spring means rotatably urging said jaws to bias the last mentioned legs of the jaws against said last mentioned face of the plate, said spring means comprising a U-shaped spring having its legs seated in said lug means and having laterally extending arms engaging said jaws at portions thereof remote from the journa-lled legs.

11. A clasp as called for in claim 10 wherein the bight portion of said U-shaped spring engages the journalled legs of the jaws to restrain them from axial movement outwardly of said lug means.

12. A clasp as called for in claim 10 wherein said other legs engage said other face of the plate adjacent side edges of the plate, portions of said side edges traversed by said other legs and the jaws being recessed inwardly of said other legs to accommodate the operators fingers when said other legs are squeezed inwardly toward each other to pivot the jaws about the journalled legs as axes.

13. A clasp as called for in claim 12 wherein the bight portion of each jaw is inclined relative to the plane of said plate from one face of the plate to the opposite face thereof.

14. A clasp as called for in claim 10' wherein said plate is provided at the end thereof adjacent the free ends of said other legs with a flange projecting in a direction from the last mentioned face of the plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 423,934 Lathrop Mar. 25, 1890 718,718 Maurer Jan. 20, 1903 1,005,895 Shee Oct. 17, 1911 1,359,243 Flownoy Nov. 16, 1920 1,883,270 Young Oct. 18, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS 700,286 Great Britain Nov. 25, 1953 

1. A CLASP COMPRISING A PLATE, A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED JAWS HAVING ONE END PORTION JOURNALLED BENEATH THE PLATE IN PARALLELISM WITH EACH OTHER AND THEIR OTHER END PORTIONS ENGAGEABLE ON SAID PLATE AND COOPERABLE THEREWITH FOR RECEIVING AND GRIPPING MATERIAL THEREBETWEEN, AND RESILIENT MEANS FOR CLOSING THE JAWS ON THE PLATE, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED SPRING MOUNTED BENEATH THE PLATE ASTRADDLE THE JOURNALLED ENDS OF THE JAWS, SAID SPRING INCLUDING OUTTURNED END PORTIONS ENGAGED ON THE OTHER END PORTIONS OF THE JAWS FOR YIELDINGLY URGING SAID JAWS TOWARD THE PLATE. 